Highway vigil examines Trans-Canada's danger

Debate rages over a stretch of pavement that is quickly becoming one of Saskatchewan’s most infamous roads.

Highway 1 has seen many accidents – some fatal – leaving drivers wanting answers on how to make the road safer. Another death occurred on the highway Wednesday morning.

Wanda Campbell has spent the last two years of her life working to solve this conundrum, and she only sees one answer: traffic lights.

“Red, yellow, green – people know that, that’s universal.

“What’s not universal is how to access that confusing intersection on such a small space.”

Campbell held a vigil Saturday afternoon to call attention to the problem and her solution. She argues that the government is ignoring data that supports traffic light inclusion. She cites numbers from an American highway safety manual stating T-bone accidents could decrease 77 per cent, left turn collisions could decrease by 60, and overall accidents could decrease by 44. The manual that measures the stats in a broader context is not specific to regions.

Campbell acknowledges that traffic lights could increase rear-end accidents by 58 per cent, but feels the road is far more dangerous without lights. Campbell lost her son Lane Campbell Antosh two years ago when he died in an accident at the intersection. This is not the first time she staged an event to draw attention to the issue, as she feels the deaths and injuries go beyond any one driver’s fault.

“It’s not just driver error, it’s not just distraction, it’s not impatience, it is actually something wrong with that highway.”